Japan’s disaster: 5 inspiring survival stories

Disasters can happen to anyone and under any circumstances. But how people deal with the situation and survive off of it, becomes a story that inspires many. Read on to know 5 survival stories from the time of Japan’s disaster; you’d definitely feel a lot more motivated to display your strengths on a daily basis.

The Miracle Baby

photo: huffingtonpost

If the initial reaction of the rescue workers had taken root, one of the most audacious survivors of the tsunami, a baby of just 4 months, would have died. When the workers heard the faint cry of the tiny baby, they dismissed it as nothing of consequence as they had no reason to believe that a baby could be alive under the weight of the pile of debris. But, when the wailing was insistent, they espied a baby swaddling in a bear suit under all that debris. Neither the tidal wave of monster proportions nor the debris it had left behind could take the baby’s life away.

Love is Blind

A teacher from America, Zack Branham, was staying in Kuji in the northern part of Japan. The 24 year old managed to survive the tsunami. The relief he felt was short-lived. For, he soon came to know that his girlfriend had not been as lucky as he. The town where she lived had to bear the brunt of the tsunami. The teacher from Tennessee was not the one to give up hope. With any kind of transport out of question, he started walking towards the nearby town. The terrain was in utter chaos which made walking a near-impossibility. Undeterred by the destruction he saw throughout his journey, he continued walking for 20 hours to finally find his girlfriend. They two decided to stay back in Japan to help the recovery process.

What has age got to do with it?

The fury of the tsunami was so complete that it effortlessly pulled entire towns into the sea. Thousands of residents went missing. Hiromitsu Shinkawa, a 60 year old courageous man refused to give up although he was sucked 9 miles into the sea along with his shattered house. He somehow clung relentlessly to what was left of the roof for two days. A naval destroyer on rescue mission fortunately spotted him among the debris in the deep ocean and brought him ashore.

Dramatic TV Broadcast

Paul Fales, a 25 year old son of an American family was stranded on Oshima Island for five days after the quake. The members of his family who were in Kesennuma thought they had lost their son. Help was on its way, though. Soledad O’Brien, the CNN staffer met him and offered her satellite phone to make contact with his family. Unknown to him, his family had also contacted Anderson Cooper’s show. The ordeal ended on a happy note with parents and son reuniting with the help of satellite phones. It was broadcast live on CNN

Technology to the Rescue

It is heartening to learn how technology had been instrumental in achieving the unachievable. A Japanese student in Calif., Akkiko Kosaka, had come to the conclusion that she had lost her family forever. Her family was living in a village along the coast. It was only miles away from the epicenter of the quake. A friend who had been browsing YouTube saw Kosaka’s sister in a news video holding up a sign which said, “We all survived”. She was urging the journalists present to inform her sister in America that they were all alright. Kosaka was about to break down when she disclosed the fact that she had watched the video 50 times.